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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24991420">Ember in the Shade</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/wayward_childomine/pseuds/wayward_childomine'>wayward_childomine</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Lockwood &amp; Co. - Jonathan Stroud</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Ghost Hunting, Locklyle, Other, georgecubbins, hollymunro, lockwood and co - Freeform, quillkipps</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 03:13:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,325</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24991420</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/wayward_childomine/pseuds/wayward_childomine</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A Lockwood and Co. fanfiction about Holly's mysterious roommate. This is the first fanfic I've written in 4 years, so it won't be top-quality :)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lucy Carlyle/Anthony Lockwood</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Ember in the Shade</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Lockwood+and+Co+Discord+server">Lockwood and Co Discord server</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 1<br/>Lucy' POV</p>
<p>The sky was black with a rare England thunderstorm. Rain lashed the windows of 35 Portland Row, making it difficult to hear. All the windows of the house were black, except for two on the ground floor. This was the living room; the occupants were engaged in a lively discussion around the fireplace.</p>
<p>I took up a third of the sofa. Across from me, in his favorite armchair, sat Lockwood. George sat on the floor, squashing a beanbag into a dubious shape. Holly was next to me on the couch, and Kipps slouched on her other side. The living room, as mentioned, was illuminated by the soft glow from the fire-- our electricity was out.</p>
<p>That didn't stop us from arguing. Nothing stopped us from arguing.</p>
<p>"Lockwood," I said yet again, "you need to get that chair fixed. It's a bloody mess." His chair was in rather horrible shape, with one of the arms coming off and the bottom falling out.</p>
<p>"I will," he said, smiling that infuriating little smile, "eventually. I just haven't gotten around to it. Other things have been on my mind lately." He glanced at me and I blushed -- I knew exactly what he was talking about. George chipped in from the floor, glasses askew, "Lockwood, it really is looking pretty sad by this point. How about you let us take care of it for you, and call it your birthday present?"</p>
<p>"George, you're not one to be lecturing. Your poor beanbag has seen better days," I pointed out. George looked affronted. "I've had this beanbag for five years. It's held up pretty well if you ask me."</p>
<p>"Well, I'm not asking you," I said. Lockwood turned on me. "I seem to recall that you, Lucy, are in possesion of a battered old desk chair with two busted legs. And if I remember rightly, most of the paint has flaked off." My cheeks were suddenly burning. "That's different," I protested. "I have plans to fix it up eventu--" I cut myself off, but not in time. "Eventually?" Lockwood emphasized the word, the grin stretching across his face now. "Shut up," I muttered, defeated.</p>
<p>Quill spoke up from the depths of his couch corner. "If you idiots are done roasting each other, I'm going to get more tea." He stood up and was immediately met with a chorus of pleas for mugs to be filled. He sighed. "Insufferable," he said acidly. But he took the cups. As he walked away, I studied him. Three months had gone by since the battle at Fittes House, and Quill had almost completely recovered. His level of paleness had returned to abnormal, and the shadows around his eyes had all but disappeared. He slightly resembled a reanimated corpse, but that meant he was fine.</p>
<p>The rest of us hadn't bounced back as quickly, especially Lockwood and I. The two of us had already been to the Other Side, and we were still getting over the first experience when we had to repeat it. Three months had passed, though, and we were looking better every day. All five of us had white streaks in our hair and we were a little thinner (even George), but we had survived the land of the dead-- we were thankful just to be alive.</p>
<p>But something is wrong there, I thought as I shot a sideways glance at Holly. She had been unusually quiet for the past couple of days. Not even our conversation about broken furniture had gotten a response out of her. I was sure she would have spoken up to support my idea that Lockwood get his chair fixed.</p>
<p>I nudged her gently with my elbow. "Everything okay, Hol? You look like something's bothering you." Evidently I startled her out of her thoughts, because she jumped a little. "Oh! I'm sorry, I know I've been a little bit of a downer lately, but I'm worried about my roommate." Lockwood, George, and I looked at her in surprise. Holly almost never talked about her personal life-- we respected her privacy, but always thought it was a bit strange not to know anything about her.</p>
<p>The firelight made her coffee-colored skin glow and her eyes shine. "Yes, my roommate. I don't think I've even told you her name-- it's Casey. Casey Finnigan. She's back to being an agent again, and she takes a crazy amount of risks." Sounds familiar, I thought,  and met Lockwood's mischievous eye. </p>
<p>Holly, oblivious to our little interplay, went on. "At first she worked with supervisors as a free agent, but she had problems with almost all of them. She told me a few days ago that she's decided to go solo."</p>
<p>That got our attention. "A solo agent? Is she mad? No solo agent I've ever heard of has survived longer than a couple of months," Lockwood said in disbelief. </p>
<p>"I know," said Holly despairingly, "I've tried to talk her out of it, but it's almost like she has a death wish or something. Nothing I say makes any impression on her."</p>
<p>"How old is she?" I asked curiously. Finally, we were hearing a few details about the mysterious roommate. "Seventeen," Holly answered. "Her Talents are Sight and Touch, and it sounds like she's quite a good agent."</p>
<p>Kipps walked into the room carrying the tea tray. "Who are we talking about?" he asked as he navigated around the various objects on the floor. "Casey Finnigan, my roommate," Holly said. "Have you heard of her?"</p>
<p>"The name sounds familiar, but I can't remember ever meeting her. Maybe she-"</p>
<p>"Wait. Hold up," Lockwood interrupted, his brow furrowed. "What did you mean, Hol, when you said that Casey was 'back to being an agent'? Didn't she work at DEPRAC?"</p>
<p>"Yes, but only temporarily. She was stabbed by a Revenant from a ghost-bomb at Fittes House--she couldn't do field work for a while, so DEPRAC offered her a job until she made a full recovery. I think they were sorry to see her go, but there was no way she would've stayed behind a desk." Holly's face grew thoughtful. "In fact, I don't know for sure if she's ever actually worked for an agency." Kipps handed out the tea and sat back down.</p>
<p>"As I was saying," he said, rolling his eyes in Lockwood's direction, "maybe I recognize her name from the Chelsea outbreak or something. There were tons of agents there."</p>
<p>"I don't know," Holly exclaimed, suddenly on the verge of tears. "I've just really come to care about her, almost like a little sister. She needs help, and I don't know what to do for her. She refuses to talk about her problems and she's very independent. Offering to help her will hurt her pride."</p>
<p>There was an uncomfortable silence. I slowly put my arm around Holly's thin frame, and she buried her face in my shoulder. We all lapsed into deep thought. A few minutes went by, then Lockwood broke the silence. "How about you invite her over for dinner, Hol? Maybe she's just lonely. I'd love to meet her."</p>
<p>We stared at him. He noticed. "What?"</p>
<p>"Invite her over to dinner? Are you crazy? We never have guests," George protested. I mumbled agreement.</p>
<p>"There's no reason why we shouldn't," Lockwood replied. "Kipps, you can come over, Holly can bring Casey, and we'll have fun." Holly had raised her head up off my shoulder and was looking at Lockwood now. "Actually," she said slowly, "I think Casey would really like that. I'm not sure she's got many friends round the agencies."</p>
<p>Lockwood beamed at her. "It's settled then," he said happily, flicking the hair out of his eyes. "Whenever Casey's free and we have a night off, just invite her over for the evening. We'll tidy up and Lucy can make dinner." I was rather pleased with this idea, but Holly looked apprehensive. </p>
<p>"Maybe I should cook. Just in case."</p>
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